(Business in Cameroon) - Next to Ndop rice grown in the area with the same name in the North-West region, that of Tonga, in the West region, and above all the brand Semry, whose production often reaches 100,000 tons a year; we now have to count "Logone rice" among the Cameroonian brands.

Launched by the cooperative TPA, which set up a fresh paddy rice hulling unit in the town of Yagoua, in the Far North region, "Logone rice" is now available in markets of the three northern regions of Cameroon, then the Chadian towns of Bongor and Fianga, confides Ahmadou Wadiri, CEO of the cooperative TPA.

According to this director of TPA, the rush of consumers towards this local rice, which has the particularity of being directly hulled after its harvest in the rice fields (paddy does not pass through storage warehouses) is such that the cooperative intends to pass from annual production of 300 tons to 1200 tons, from the year 2018. As a reminder, demand for rice in Cameroon lies around 300,000 tons a year. In order to cover the shortfall in local production, operators in the sector have, for example, mobilised FCfa 212 billion for imports (819,800 tons) in 2013, according to the statistics of the National Balance of Payments Technical Committee.

Selon divers rapports gouvernementaux, une bonne partie de ces importations camerounaises est souvent frauduleusement réexportée vers les pays voisins tels que le Nigeria, dont les autorités ont fortement relevé la taxation du riz importé, dans l’optique d’encourager la production locale.

According to various government reports, a good part of these Cameroonian imports are often fraudulently re-exported to neighbouring countries such as Nigeria, whose authorities have substantially raised taxes of imported rice, in order to encourage local production.

Brice R. Mbodiam